The experimental coronavirus treatment remdesivir has failed in its first randomized clinical trial, inadvertently released results showed Thursday, dampening expectations for the closely watched drug, reports AFP.
A draft summary went online briefly on the website of the World Health Organization (WHO) and was first reported by the Financial Times and Stat, which posted a screenshot.
But Gilead Sciences, the company behind the medicine, disputed how the now-deleted post had characterized the findings, saying the data showed a "potential benefit."
The summary said the Chinese trial involved 237 patients, with 158 on the drug and 79 in a control group. Remdesivir was stopped early in 18 patients because of side effects.
The authors said remdesivir was "not associated with a difference in time to clinical improvement" compared to the control.
